Des Moines Diary – Day One

Prior to the Madness

(Des Moines, IA) – They tell me Iowa weather is less than ideal and well today they are correct. Cold, rainy, dark and snow in the forecast, but the media shuttle is on time and I am dry and almost warm inside Wells Fargo Arena. Here is my Des Moines Diary – Day One.

This site has such a Big Twelve/Southwest Conference feel. Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M and Arkansas are all here. Who knows what conference any of them are in now or where they’ll be tomorrow, but these teams all have history with one another. Illinois is here too and Kansas head coach Bill Self used to coach there.

Side Note: Self skipped his media appointments yesterday, but his players say he is doing the important things and seems like his old, energetic self (no pun intended).

The interlopers are Howard, Colgate and Penn State, but then Penn State and Illinois are both from the Big Ten.

Wells Fargo is feels homey, but maybe that is because there are so many Missouri Valley Conference workers/volunteers here. Everywhere I turn there is someone I typically see at Arch Madness.

Not ‘End Game’ of March Madness

Depending on your super hero movie tastes, this is the DC First Round Site. Jason Momoa (Aquaman) grew up in nearby Norwalk, Iowa and Brandon Routh (Superman) was born here in Des Moines.

There are sexier pods, like the one in Albany that has a mixture of 4/13 and 5/12 collisions and in Birmingham where you have some of the most quotable and successful college basketball coaches. Under normal circumstances, the Birmingham pod would be the ‘it place’ to be.

Two, Number one seeds in Houston and Alabama are there. Auburn and Alabama are in the same neighborhood and Bob Huggins is there with West Virginia. Houston’s Kelvin Sampson and Auburn’s Bruce Pearl are some of most charismatic coaches in the business and Huggins isn’t far behind. All have had their brushes with the NCAA and have a veteran and sage-like aura surrounds them. Under normal circumstances, Birmingham would be ‘hot’.

However, this isn’t normal. Alabama is there and with the drama surrounding the tragic shooting death of Jamea Jonae Harris, involving former Crimson Tide player Darius Miles. Current Alabama star Brandon Miller allegedly brought the gun to scene of the shooting and the all-American and the Alabama program are facing scrutiny and criticism surrounding their handling of the situation.

Denver is the Homer Drew pod. His sons Bryce (Grand Canyon) and Scott (Baylor) are coaching there.

Game coverage and sites and sounds to come.

Do Good